The present invention relates generally to a foldable and easy-to-deploy shielding device, for creating a temporary protecting shield or screen, during emergency situations.
Particularly, present invention provides for an easily retracted/folded and easily deployed/drawn-out shielding device that takes up little space when put away. When deployed, it can create a screened-off “pie”-shaped safety zone for temporary protection and resistance against incoming projectiles or bullets, benefitting some fifteen adults or twenty-five school children of normal sizes, according to the sample 6-piece 3×5 (foot) disclosure discussed herein.
To deploy the shielding device from its retracted state where all straight rigid planar pieces are generally kept in a parallel manner, a person can simply “draw” out the rigid planar pieces, which are slidably connected together in a seriatim manner.
Also, the rigid planar pieces are slidably engaged by a track formation that generally maintains these straight pieces in a parallel fashion, both in the “stored” stated and in the “deployed” state.
For straight shaped rigid planar pieces, a small angle will be created between every two connected pieces, so as to from an overall arc-shaped “pie” screen.
A preferred embodiment would have a pop-out ball structure clicking into a receiving cavity, when all the planar pieces are drawn laterally to a pre-set position relative to the one connected, forming a temporary safe “pie” area when engaged to two side walls, 90-degrees for example.
Alternatively, a travel limiter means on the track formation will create a small overlapping segment between two adjacent rigid planar pieces. A small angle will be formed thereto between two straight pieces, which provides the bow-tensioning force for the overall deployed shielding device.
For the slightly curved version of the rigid planar pieces, the angles of the overall “bow” shape will be defined by the natural arc angles of all the deployed rigid planar pieces, having a small overlapping segment between any two pieces.